Maika Monroe Runs for Her Life in ‘It Follows’

Maika Monroe has spent a lot of time running for her life. Last year, in the thriller “The Guest,” she played a girl who must flee from the strange and dangerous man (Dan Stevens) staying with her family. In the horror movie “It Follows,” opening March 13, she’s stalked by an evil force in human form that will kill her if it catches her. The only way to break the curse is to have sex with someone and pass it on.

Both roles, in films that tease the conventions of their genres, made for exciting performances from Ms. Monroe, 21, who’s becoming something of a millennial scream queen. They also made for a number of breathless takes, as her characters spend lots of screen time racing down dark streets, hallways and mazes.

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David Robert Mitchell narrates a sequence from “It Follows,” opening March 13.Published OnMarch 5, 2015CreditImage by Radius-TWC

Ms. Monroe, who grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., took an unconventional path into acting. She began as a dancer, and after appearing as a movie extra and in commercials, she moved to the Dominican Republic to train as a professional kiteboarder. But soon she was offered a part in the Zac Efron movie “At Any Price.” “It didn’t even take me a second to decide what I wanted to do,” she said by phone from Los Angeles. “I was gone in the snap of a finger.” These are excerpts from the interview.

Q. What were your initial thoughts on “It Follows?”

A. I was sent the script when I was filming “The Guest,” and it was one of the weirdest scripts I’ve ever read. I didn’t know how it was going to translate into a movie. But I did some research on the director [David Robert Mitchell] and looked at his previous film, “The Myth of the American Sleepover,” and there was just something so bizarre and different about his style. So I thought if you take that feel and throw it into the horror genre, it would be interesting.

More physical exertion?

Maybe I should have been thinking, I’m going to be running and screaming for my life again. I’d never thought of horror as being so challenging, but it is.

Are you a fan of horror?

As a kid growing up, I loved watching horror movies. I loved scaring myself. But I feel like recently, a lot of horror movies are made just to be made. They’re loud and boring and in-your-face. But these scripts came along with such unique voices.

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Adam Wingard narrates a sequence from his film “The Guest,” written by Simon Barrett and featuring Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe.Published OnSept. 16, 2014CreditImage by Ursula Coyote/Picturehouse

Was it difficult to shoot the sex scenes in the new movie?

I don’t know if difficult is the right word. It’s just awkward. I mean, there’s nothing romantic about it.

Do you think these movies will brand you as a horror girl?

Surprisingly, I don’t feel like I’ve been categorized. The people that are watching these films aren’t just horror fans. I start filming a movie called “The Tribes of Palos Verdes,” which is kind of a darker drama about a dysfunctional family. And I have a young adult novel adaptation called “The 5th Wave” coming out.

So you’re being offered more traditional teen roles, too?

Yeah, and a lot of them I have no interest in playing. Cheerleader roles are really not my thing. I want things that are weird or not typical. I think a superhero would be awesome to play.

Are you open to more movies where you’re running and screaming?

If it’s something that is worth it to me, hell yeah.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page AR5 of the New York edition with the headline: Running for Her Life, Screaming All the Way. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe